Hey y’all! Today I’ve got a review of A Return of Devotion by Kristi Ann Hunter … only with a twist. It’s not written in typical review format—instead, I’m writing it as “reasons you should read it” + some further thoughts.

There’s also a vlog + some updates about my vlog at the end of this post, so stay tuned for that! If you enjoy booktubing, you won’t want to miss out on it.

By the way, Alone in Berlin just hit 20,000 words! Woohoo! I feel like I’m getting there. Though this book is SO horrid—I’ll probably end up doing a complete rewrites with plot points moved around and all. Oh, well.

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

Title: A Return of Devotion

Author: Kristi Ann Hunter

Series: Haven Manor, #2

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Era: 1810s (Regency)

Setting: England, countryside

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Source: from NetGalley in exchange for honest review

Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

A Return of Devotion by Kristi Ann Hunter

Daphne Blakemoor was perfectly happy living in her own secluded world for twelve years. She had everything she needed—loved ones, a true home, and time to indulge her imagination. But when ownership of the estate where she works as a housekeeper passes on, and the new marquis has an undeniable connection to her past, everything she’s come to rely upon is threatened.

William, Marquis of Chemsford’s main goal in life is to be the exact opposite of his father. Starting a new life in the peace and quiet of the country sounds perfect until his housekeeper turns his life upside down.

They’ve spent their lives hiding from the past. Can they find the courage to face their deepest wounds and, perhaps, find a new path for the future together?

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Without any further ado, let’s dive into …

5 Reasons You Should Read A Return of Devotion by Kristi Ann Hunter

If you’d rather have this info in vlog format, go with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGl1TXGW_zM&feature=youtu.be

1: If you love historical romances, the Regency era, amazing Christian themes, realistic characters, sweet children, and books that beautifully balance humor and seriousness.

Honestly, this is without a doubt one of the best Regency romances I’ve ever read. It has the best themes, the best characters, and the best plot! It’s emotional without being melodramatic and touches your heart without being preachy!

2: If you want to read about one of the most realistic, role-model female protagonists EVER.

Honestly, there are so many great things about Daphne! She is an angel from Heaven, but at the same time, she’s real. She’s not perfect … but she can teach us so many things about being a woman just through her actions, personality, and opinions.

• She isn’t ashamed to cry.
• Quiet and takes time to think things out.
• Actually loving.
• Not particularly selfish or prideful.
• She’s a good mom—to a whole bunch of kids!
• Can recognize her own strengths and weaknesses … most of the time.
• She’s just different from most historical heroines. Not cliche at all! And that makes me happy inside.

I don’t want to venture into spoiler land, but she also learns some great lessons and learns to value herself more. Love it!

3: The premise for this whole series is fantastic.

This sweet and clean serious hosts some AMAZING themes in the two books (a novella) that I’ve read thus far.

Orphaned or might-as-well-be-orphaned children are one of my passions, and I would love to be involved in something like Haven Manor when I become an adult. I just really think kids need to be given more of a chance than they are.

This series so far has explored different angles of moving on from the past and embracing who you are in Christ, and I love it!

I can’t wait to see what book 3 brings us, especially since Jess is such an interesting character. (Not my favorite, but eh. I don’t know why she rubs me wrong … maybe it’ll be different from her POV.)

But, basically, love this series, love Haven Manor, and love the girls in it! (Definitely go back and read book 1 if you haven’t already; it’s fantastic!)

4: WILLIAM IS AMAZING!

He’s a strong, amazing, godly man! And I know he has his faults, but he is also sooo sweet and supportive and gentle and AWESOME.

“Awesome” and “Amazing” are two great words for William. He’s just … wow. I really love William! His POV kept rivaling Daphne’s for my favorite. I loved them both, honestly, and I love them for each other even more so. ❤

One of the best things about William was his determination to take responsibility—not just for his own actions but for those of his family members. He truly is a hero, and a fighter, and I love him for that!

Too many people are self-focused and deny responsibility for others, and even shirk their own duties. Not William! He does a great job.

AND … HE WOULD MAKE SUCH AN AMAZING DAD! Okay, but am I wrong when I say there is nothing more attractive in a man than just being an amazing dad-figure!? We need more good dads in this world.

5: It was impossible to put down!

I know not everyone has the same reading taste, but for me, it was one of those books where you just … you can’t stop reading it!

I read this book in almost six hours, staying up until … *drumroll* … 5 AM! Wow. That is literally when a lot of people get up.

Once I started the book, I had to finish it. There was no other option available but to read on and on and on.

And yes, the late hour was my fault—I shouldn’t have started it at 11:30. But you know what? Had to be done!

So yes, those are my five main reasons you should read A Return of Devotion by Kristi Ann Hunter. And a lot of them, in different ways, apply to book 1, too.

Honestly, I loved book 2 more than book 1, but they were both 5-star reads which I would highly recommend!

More Reasons Why I Loved A Return of Devotion:

• The situations with the young servants and William’s reaction to the absurdity that is Haven Manor cracked me up.
• Benedict is one of the most amazing kiddos in the world. (p.s. for those of you who noticed, I have it straight from the author that his initials were not intentional. *coughs and dies* Though it gave me a good chuckle while reading!)
• The ending scenes were amazing! All the crazyness with eVeRyOnE who could possible show up showing up all at once was aMaZiNg.
• William is awesome. Did I mention that before?
• Daphne is also fantastic.
• Daphne’s father is similarly fantastic! I loved everything about this guy. Like, yeah, he wasn’t perfect, but as far as dad’s go, especially given the era, I give him an A+.
• The series features other relationships besides romance—mother to son, daughter to father, friendships between people of all shapes and sizes, etc.
• The contrast between book 1 and book 2—Kit focuses on the mothers, Daphne focuses on the children—is awesome. (I personally couldn’t care less about the mothers, haha—#TeamDaphne, I guess???)
• The author actually cares about putting God into the book. She doesn’t just have the characters give an occasional nod to Him, as is required in Christian fiction—“Oh, by the way, God, prayer, blahblahblah, now back to the story!” Mrs. Hunter actually takes the time to weave elements of her faith into the plot, the characters, and of course the theme!

So, basically, there were tons of amazing things about this book (and a lot of them apply to book 1 and the prequel novella, as well, if you want to start at the beginning of the series).

I can’t wait for book 3, and I’m so grateful to NetGalley for giving me the eARC and then to Bethany House for sending me a paperback copy with which to reread my favorite parts!

FTC Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

And there you go. Now for the quick vlog update:

Kellyn Roth’s Vlog (an update)

I’ve decided to try posting once a week on YouTube! And yep, I’ve said that before, but now I’m serious. Really. Like, I’m not going to back out.

I’m hoping it’ll be combination of reviews and other bookish things, author updates, and writing advice. But we’ll see what direction I go in! Some of the videos/vlogs might be a bit random!

If you’re interested, you can follow me here!

TTFN!

~Kellyn Roth~

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p.s.

Do you enjoy romances? Why or why not? Do you enjoy helping children? What are some of your passions? (Mine are writing, kiddos, and history.) Does this sound like a book you’d enjoy reading?